Peppermint
by Follower of Pan
Summary: Princess Bonibelle Bubblegum never cared much about the past. But when some secret tapes from the Great Mushroom War are discovered, she'll find herself questioning her whole world.
1. Chapter 1

Intelligent life has always formed mighty empires and kingdoms. The ancients had Egypt, Greece and Rome. Later came England, Russia, Germany. The last great power of the human world was the United States of America. The mightiest empire of Ooo was the Candy Kingdom.

Princess Bonibelle Bubblegum was a good ruler, though she actually did little ruling. The people of the Candy Kingdom were simple, and went about their daily lives without a care for what their government actually did, or what their officials did in their private time.

And she liked it this way. This allowed her more time to devote to her studies, inventing, creating, morphing. She knew just about every function, of every body part, of every creature. She could cure just about any disease. She could creat amazing inventions for just about any problem one could have. Of all the minds in the land of Ooo, her's was one of the greatest.

On the day our story begins, she had awoken about half an hour earlier than usual. At first she groaned and tried to go back to sleep, but eventually got out of bed, bathed, and changed into one of her simpler gowns.

She walked into her throne room and sat down, leafing through a few of her plans for inventions, before hearing a feminine, somewhat melodic voice from above.

"Hey, Bonibelle, how's it hanging?"

She looked up to see Marceline the Vampire Queen. She was wearing a grey tank top, jeans, and red boots, hanging upside down at the knees from a rafter.

Bonibelle shrugged. "I have an appointment with a few archeologists scheduled. Those are always boring."

Marceline rolled her eyes "You're one to talk."

"At least what I talk about still matters. What's the point of studying something that's already finished with? My discoveries are some of the most important ones made in centuries." She added her last comment a bit too smugly for Marceline's taste, however true the statement may be.

Marceline began absentmindedly chewing on a piece of rafter, which happened to be some sort of cookie. "I wouldn't be so cocky, Princess. Someone might find something interesting out there, something not too good about you."

"Well, I have nothing to hide. The past doesn't matter. Never has."

Marceline paused and thought a moment, as she began floating through the air.

"Bonibelle, what do you believe in? You know, Glob, Cosmic Owl, and all that?"

She was shocked that Marceline would ask her such a personal question out of the blue, but answered anyway. "I don't believe in any of that. It never mattered much to me."

"And where do you think we all came from?"

Bubblegum thought for a moment, before giving the answer, "I don't know."

She had never enjoyed being last to know something, whether it be gossip or a new scientific study. She prided herself on knowing just about everything in Ooo. And know, here she was, not knowing the answer to a question about her own thoughts. She had never thought much of an origin, and she didn't know much about it, beyond her own biological studies, which simply made an origin more complicated to understand. Any simpleton could give a ridiculous, yet truthful answer, but she couldn't. She felt stupid, and even angry. Angry at herself for not knowing, angry at the answer for not being obvious, angry at Marceline for asking.

"Where are you going with this?" she asked grouchily. Before Marceline could answer, Peppermint Butler walked in.

"The archeologists have arrived, m'lady."

**A/N So what do you think so far? I've wanted to do something involving the Mushroom War for awhile, and here it is.**


	2. Chapter 2

There were two kinds of archeologists in Ooo. The less interesting, yet also less... rough historians, and the rouge treasure hunters. The team of four the Princess had met with had only one historian.

The historian happened to be a male Rainicorn, and an old one at that. His colors were faded, his horn drooped, and he had a bushy mustache and goatee.

The other three were his polar opposites. Among them was a cat bearing a saber, a huge wolf chewing on a candy person, and what appeared to be a male vampire with long nails and huge facial scars.

Princess Bubblegum had never been very interested in the past. But Marceline's discussion with her had provoked her interest. The rainicorn explained to her that near the Ice Kingdom, they had discovered an underground laboratory.

What little interest Bubblegum had before, suddenly spiked. The idea of discovering lost scientific data exited her, and she demanded to be taken to the lab. After much arguing with the royal guards, it was agreed she would go.

The entrance to the lab was a large, circular elevator, covered in what appeared to be a manhole, after she and the archeologists entered, it suddenly plummeted, miles into the earth, at speeds just short of killing a person.

When the elevator stopped at the bottom, the force shocked Bubblegum, throwing her into the cat and vampire. They growled and hissed, but caught themselves before they did something they would regret.

The lab itself resembled more of a prison. While it did have a large area where they were at, with monitors and levers and things, the majority of the lab was a long line of hundreds, maybe thousands of cells, and at the end, large contraptions that appeared more for torture than science.

But the most disturbing thing, was the human skeletons, lying everywhere in horrible positions. Some appeared to be pleading for mercy, while others merely had horrible punishments placed upon them. One had its skull smashed through a screen. Many had broken arms and legs, shattered skulls and snapped necks. One was impaled on a broken wooden rafter. But everything had a sickening smell of rotting flesh and sugar.


	3. Chapter 3

Princess Bubblegum was frozen with disgust. Never had she seen anything quite so horrifying. The rainicorn, however, was not so easily swayed. He walked right up to a monitor and pressed a button with his hoof.

An image of a man, staring straight into the camera appeared on the screen. He was wearing a camouflage suit, and was sitting in a broken down shack with several peppermints. But these weren't the short bipedal talking mints she would see throughout her kingdom. They were small enough to fit several in a fist, and clearly not alive. Bubblegum was deeply interested, and walked closer to the screen and began watching.

The man spoke with a deep, strong voice. "We've made it across enemy lines. If we're lucky, we might be able to end this thing before things become nuclear. Things are getting rough out here. We need to end this quick or the whole wor-"

He was interrupted by the booming sound of an explosion. He yelled and started running away from the source of the sound, but the room was instantly filled with smoke and fire. Somehow, the camera and one mint were knocked to the ground but survived.

And it did survive. For, after an automatic fast forward, of maybe days, weeks, months, Bubblegum could clearly see an eye had developed on the mint. It was small and dark, and made up of a repeating design, much like that of a spider. The tape fast forwarded more. By the end, there was little of the creature left, besides the eye. It took her a moment, but the Princess soon realized what had happened. The mint had been eating itself from the inside.

Bubblegum was horrified, but more perplexed than anything. What was this creature? Who was the man? And why was this tape in this of all places?

The screen went black before she could do anything.


	4. Chapter 4

Not many things would upset Princess Bubblegum. Kidnapping, Threats to her kingdom and the world, and cliffhangers were some of these things.

So, after ranting nonstop to the explorers, she eventually needed to breath, giving the rainicorn enough time to get a word in.

"We can check the security tapes for more information, m'lady."

The Princess paused and began muttering something along the lines of, "Oh, yeah, of course, that's what I was thinking..." as she awkwardly played with her dress.

The vampire floated up to a camera at the corner of the wall nearest them and pulled it down. He removed a disk and inserted it into the slot below the monitor.

On the screen appeared two humans, a bald man of maybe 40 or 50, who was tall and muscular, and a small young woman of maybe 28, who had straight blonde hair. Several others were walking past the cells, which had dark shapes, creatures, moving throughout them.

The man glanced down at his clipboard, before speaking in a deep, commanding voice. "Good evening, Dr... Emily Peters?"

She nodded. "And you are Dr. Strauer?"

The man nodded back to her before leading her to the monitor where Princess Bubblegum was standing herself. Dr. Strauer pressed the same button, and the same clip played. When it ended, Dr. Strauer turned to her, waiting for her to ask. Dr. Peters was slightly confused, but turned to Dr. Strauer.

"And how much progress has been made, doctor?"

Dr. Strauer gestured to the cells. "Much, m'dear, much indeed." He pointed to one of the other scientists, who happened to be carrying a large stick and pet carrier. "You there! Fetch us a peppermint creature!"

The scientist hurriedly obeyed. He ran to a cell, about 20 feet away from them, and used the large stick to back the creature into the pet carrier. He closed the carrier and ran back up to the two doctors.

He opened the carrier and pushed the creature out again. It was a small peppermint man, mouth wide open, eyes beady and small, just like the ones in her kingdom, though not wearing any clothing. He fell on his back, struggling to get up. Dr. Strauer placed a foot over its body, holding it down.

"Notice the hands. Very similar to a human's. And the arms and legs. Flexible, yet sturdy. We've even designed a reproductive system in most."

"Amazing." She kneeled down next to the creature.

He pushed the creature back into its cage with his foot.

Dr. Peters stood up. "But if you have all of this progress, why would you need me?"

He gestured for the scientist. "Bring it to us."


	5. Chapter 5

When the scientist returned, he was carrying a large metal box and crowbar, and wearing thick gloves. He placed the box right in front of Dr. Strauer, and handed him the crowbar.

With one swift motion, Strauer flipped the thick metal lid from the box, releasing a large amount of white gas. When the gas dispersed, the Princess could see the box was lined with what looked like ice, and had some sort of pink blob writhing in it.

Dr. Strauer stabbed the crowbar into the blob and lifted it up. It didn't really have a shape, it simply writhed and shrieked, twisting and turning. Strauer held it up, toward the hanging lights. Dr. Peters was clearly disgusted.

"What is it?"

He looked to her nonchalantly. "Chewing gum."

Bonnibelle's eyes went wide with shock. She felt angry again. But this time, it was stifled by confusion. Strauer began speaking again.

"It's immune to most weapons, can regrow organs, and reproduce asexually."

"So what's the problem?"

"That's all it can do. And on top of that, it can only survive at low temperatures."

Dr. Peters walked closer to the creature. "And what do you plan on having me do with it exactly?"

Dr. Strauer kept staring at the pained creature. "I have made plans to combine this creatures DNA with that of a human. It could reproduce sexually, survive at normal temperatures, take orders. It would be, the perfect, super soldier."

Dr. Peters was disgusted, horrified, much like the Princess had been moments ago, before Strauer continued.

"However, I require someone a bit more experienced in human anatomy for that." He glanced at Dr. Peters.

"That's horrible! I couldn't- I won't!"

Dr. Strauer slammed the creature back into the box and looked nonchalantly at the screen next to him and quickly typed in a code. On the screen appeared a picture of Dr. Peters and a young girl, maybe 12, wrestling, laughing. The young girl also had blonde hair, and looked oddly familiar.

Strauer turned to look at her, showing the first sign of emotion. His lip curled into a disturbing smile. "Christin, isn't it?"

The only emotion Peters would show was anger. "You wouldn't."

"I'm a very influential man." He leaned over and pressed a button, creating a static sound.

"Captain, is she in your sights?"

A gruff voice responded. "Yes, sir."

"Be ready."

He turned off the machine and looked Dr. Peters in the eye, still smiling.


	6. Chapter 6

The following footage was all the same. Scientists walking around, Dr. Peters taking the creature into a room at the end of the hallway, and Dr. Strauer watching from where they were, and everyone retiring to their sleeping quarters at the end of the day.

Eventually, Dr. Peters left her room significantly earlier than usual and approached Dr. Strauer, holding a pet carrier. Strauer turned to her.

"It's done, then?"

Dr. Peters nodded. She looked as though she'd aged years, and she was gaunt and expressionless. She opened up the pet carrier and reached in. She pulled out a small, squirming, squeaking creature. It was a rat made from gum.

Dr. Strauer smiled. "Good. And however did you do this?"

"Injections to the mother."

Dr. Strauer began examining the rat more closely, taking it from her. "Good. Very good."

A moment passed before he put the rat back into the box. "And the instructions are all in your lab?"

"Yes."

"And we haven't tested it on a person yet, correct?"

"Of course."

"Good." He gestured to two bulkier scientists who had been standing in the corner. They walked up behind Dr. Peters and grabbed her arms. "Please escort Dr. Peters to her new living space."

"What?!"

Dr. Strauer began tinkering with a monitor. "But of course, doctor. Did you think I would use a test subject I didn't have under my complete control?"

She struggled against her detainees. "I'll kill you for this."

"Ah, but where does that put dear Christin?"

She stared him in the eye, defeated but refusing to show it as she was dragged to a cell.


	7. Chapter 7

However, the camera showed, one night, Dr. Strauer installing a camera to one of the bars of her cell. And, lo and behold, once they'd found her cell, the camera was still there.

The earliest footage was of her sleeping. Her cell contained only a cot. Once she woke up, she looked right at the camera and glared.

"What's this?"

Dr. Strauer's voice boomed from behind the camera. "Merely for observation."

"No privacy for inmates, huh?"

You could practically hear him snearing. "It would seem not."

"And if it should be damaged at any point?"

"Then we buy a new one, and you will be punished." You could hear his footsteps as he walked away.

By nightfall, she was asleep again. The door to her cell was opened by a young scientist, who entered and closed the door again. He moved quickly and silently towards her. The next thing Bubblegum saw was a horrifying combination of tearing clothes, sloshing noises, and bloodcurdling screams.

**So yeah... In the words of Marty McFly, 'Heavy.' So, just wanted to thank you guys and all that for reading so far. **


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, the lights came on, the hustle and bustle of the scientists came, and Dr. Peters remained, wrapped up in the simple green sheet of her cot. This continued for what must have been hours before that booming voice came from behind the camera.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Peters."

She moved the covers to see who was talking to her. Her face was pale, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Her face was covered in tear and blood stains.

"I see you received the little visitor I sent you." Strauer drummed his fingers on one of the cell door's bars.

"You're a monster."

"Perhaps. Though, it's people like you who give people like me their power. Either way, you need not suffer much longer. Our experiment is already under way."

She stared at him, not shocked, but definetly horrified.

Strauer spoke again. "Yes, your... offspring will bear DNA similar to that of the 'gum rat' you created."

"And then what?"

"We'll see when it comes. Who knows, perhaps you will taste freedom again."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry it's been awhile. School and all. **

**Note: Pretty graphic stuff this chapter. **

The next few months worth of film were a blur of exhaustion, vomiting, and screams of frustration. Food of mush and gruel would be slipped into her cell, and the only thing that seemed to change was her. Her stomach grew exponentially, the bags under her eyes became more prominent, and her once shining blonde hair had faded and even begun to gray.

One day, after several months, the everyday screams didn't stop. She collapsed to the floor, and her cell was instantly filled with scientists, surrounding her, smothering her. After many hours, they all left her lying on the ground, bloodied and weak, as they huddled in a group away from her, climbing over each other.

Eventually, one, a woman of maybe 40 years, broke from the group, and handed to Dr. Peters two small, pink humanoids. At first she was slightly fearful, repulsed even, but accepted the two, holding them close to her.

Suddenly, heavy footfalls were heard, and a booming voice called out for the scientists to leave. Reluctantly, they left, still trying to catch a glimpse of the offspring.

When Dr. Strauer walked into the cell, it was hard to recognize him. His once clean shaven face was gruff and stubbled, and instead of his usual labcoat, he wore a beige trenchcoat, covered in old red stains.

"My congratulations, doctor."

She stared at him long and hard.

"I suppose you are wondering what shall happen next? We shall need you a few months more, before your offspring are self dependent. After then, you may choose to stay or go, though I think I know your answer."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"To be direct, Dr. Peters, you will stay."

"And why is that, Strauer? Why shouldn't I just up and leave? I have a life outside of here; I wasn't made to breed monsters."

Dr. Strauer began pacing the cell. He was just as looming and powerful looking as ever, even more so with Dr. Peters laying on the ground.

"Because I know you're lying. I know how you see past the deformities of your children." He looked at the newborns, uncomfortable but asleep. "I had a wife once."

He looked up at Peters' cot. "I was young then, I didn't understand the solemnness of life. Every other night, I would pay this hooker who stayed just down the road from our apartment, with the deepest blue eyes, and lose myself." He looked Dr. Peters in the eye. "I'd feel guilty the next day of course, but that didn't matter. Untill one day, I learned my wife was pregnant."

He began genuinely smiling. It was cold and distant, the smile of a madman looking back and laughing at the pointlessness his life.

"I was overjoyed, I decided, then and there, I had to buckle down, that I would be a good father, that we would be one big, happy family." He walked over to the bars of the cell and his demeanor returned to its usual cold, emotionless state.

"My wife died in childbirth." He looked at Dr. Peters. "I doubt, in any of your studies, you have payed much attention to the disease known as syphillis?"

She shook her head.

"It's a sexually transmitted disease, that can be passed on to a carrier's children, and results in several deformities, including saddle nose, red and purple skin blemishes, and a yellowish discoloration of the skin."

He turned to Dr. Peters. "That whore, gave me syphillis, and I gave it to my own daughter. My daughter, my angel, died, after only 3 days. That night, I put on this coat, walked down the road, and murdered that bitch with a kitchen knife. I made sure to make it as slow as possible, to let her know, how much she deserved it. Then, I emptied her. First, I cut her open, and then, I removed each organ." He chuckled. "Funny. I got more practical knowledge there than I did anywhere else."


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay guys, I'm sooooo sorry. I keep forgetting this exists. But you know what reminds me? REVIEWS. Also, this could get muck darker. I might even have to move it up a rating. I don't know, if you do, feel free to tell me. :D**

Something did change over the next few tapes. Dr. Peters' sadness seemed stretched thin, just waiting for hope, maybe even happiness, to burst through. The children also changed, growing incredibly fast. After mere months, they were the size of seven year old humans. Their age paused for many weeks at this point, and some doctors would give them elementary school textbooks. Dr. Peters would speak in whispers to them, would teach them to read and write, and would always try to keep them cloaked in her blanket. They were drastically different in personality, the more careful girl staying huddled to her mother and swaddled in the blanket, and the adventurous boy, constantly trying to escape his mothers grasp. It was a simple life, but not a terribly bad one.

After a few more weeks they began aging again, and stopped at about 14. At this point, Dr. Peters fell ill, and slept much of the time. The two would often leave their mother to herself on her cot, staying on the floor, bare. They, as would be natural, appeared to begin growing curious about themselves, and each other. They noticed things would grow, or stiffen, or darken, or leak, and, seeing no harm, would freely examine each other. Their faces showed that they would enjoy some things, feel pain at others, and not even care about some. Eventually, they noticed they never remembered how to do the nice things, and, with no one with any knowledge of it for them to ever talk to, they resolved to remain ignorant.

After a full day of doing nothing whatsoever about it, there was a loud, familiar noise. The thumping of boots. The door opened, and in walked Dr. Strauer. At first, the children were reproachful, huddling into a corner, before the boy walked up to him, questioning, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm a friend. A mentor even."

"A ment-what?"

"A teacher."

The boy turned his back on Strauer and began walking to the corner his sister was in. "Thanks, but we don't need your help."

Strauer stood his ground. "I see you've reached the age where you've begun, experimenting." He savored the word 'experimenting' as it rolled off his lips.

The boy paused, before continuing to walk away. The girl, however, was more inquisitive, taking a meager step towards him.

"Do you know about what we were doing? And what is it exactly? Can you tell us about how to make it feel nice?"

Strauer smiled gently. It was cold and emotionless, but to someone who'd only known two people in their life, it wasn't as easy to see. "What is your name, dear?"

She smiled warmly, believing she'd found a genuine friend. "My name is Barbara. Oh, and this is my brother, Paul."

"Well, my dear, I can tell you two all about how to make it feel nice. And trust me, you've barely scratched the surface."

Barbara smiled wider and embraced Strauer. He wrapped his arms around her, his eyes still hinting at no emotion, not love, not anger, not even lust. Paul walked up to them, still distrusting, but willing to play along.

Strauer spoke, "We can start tomorrow night. But first, I must give your mother some medicine." He walked over to Dr. Peters, pulling a syringe from his pocket and injecting it into her arm.


	11. Chapter 11

Dr. Strauer reappeared the same night the next night, telling them exactly what to do and where to do it, and injected the same clear liquid into Dr. Peters' arm. Dr. Peters would sleep all the time now, and was given food through a tube. Strauer would show them something new each night, things of which PB would nearly faint at the sight of.

This continued for about two weeks, before Barbara began to grow a bit plumper. Once it became noticeable, they grew curious, and they skipped the day's frivolities to wait for the advice of Strauer. When he showed that night, he took stared at her stomach a few moments before looking at Paul.

"You should stop touching her in any way below the waste line."

There were minor protests, but they subsided the moment Strauer raised his hand for silence.

"You shall be moved tomorrow night to a new living quarters. You will be taken to the outside world. There you must not be seen by anyone but me, is that understood?"

The two nodded. Barbara, being as inquisitive as she was, piped up.

"Sir, what is the outside world like?"

"The world is a cruel, dark place. It is an abyss of evil and vermin, which is something I plan to correct, with your help."

Barbara looked disappointed. "I always pictured the world as beautiful."

Strauer injected Dr. Peters. "True beauty is power."


	12. Chapter 12

**Penultimate Chapter Time!**

The next day, as the two siblings sat together on the floor, two piles of neatly folded clothes were slid into the cell. They took and examined them, before struggling to put them on. Barbara wore a long skirt, with a t-shirt and hoodie, whereas Paul wore a long sleeved shirt and jeans.

That night, Strauer appeared in their cell, and gave them specific instructions to go to the front of the hall (where the viewers now stood.) After they left, Strauer walked up to the unconscious Dr. Peters and injected her, this time with a green, slimy looking substance. Almost instantly, she woke up, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

"Ah, Dr. Peters. I see you've decided to join us."

There was a look of pure terror on her face.

"I take it you want to know what's going on. I have had you sedated for a few days, after all. So your, children, could learn a bit more about themselves. And now, dear little Barbara will bare the offspring of her brother."

"Why? Why are you doing this? What's your goal?"

Strauer sighed. "The Candy Beasts in this room, what do you think they want? They've been tortured, beaten, and killed by humans. If they got out, what do you think they'd do?"

There was an eerie silence. "No answer? It's quite simple, Doctor. They'd kill their captors and exterminate their species. And naturally the humans will retaliate. Nuclear war will break out in approximately two weeks. The appocalypse is ready to happen."

"Then why do you need my kids?"

"After the human race is extinguished, the Candy Beasts would have no goal. They have no purpose, unless I give it to them. They have no reason for life, unless I give it to them. So, I gave them two purposes. Destroy humans, and obey the likes of your children and their descendants."

"What if they find you? Or you're caught by humans? You'll die too."

"And you think this scares me? Getting up every day and going through this again and again is what scares me. Living, is what scares me. Dying is easy."

Dr. Peters was astonished. "You're crazy!"

Strauer looked up from her. "You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy..."

He looked back. "Well, Dr. Peters, you'll be happy to know that your sister, Christin, is completely safe. I am, after all, a man of my word." He walked out and tossed her a phone.

"You have five minutes."

Dr. Peters struggled to get up, but was too weak from being drugged. She resolved to use the phone.

"Hello, Christin?...Yes I know...I know... Christin, listen to me! You need to get somewhere safe, an underground bunker or something... Well, find one!... I know, use those deep underground caves outside of town, build up from there...Take a few people if you can. There's going to be a war... I know... I can't... I just can't!... I know, and I love you t-"

At that moment, all of the doors to all of the cells sprung open. It was chaos. Candy Creatures were running everywhere, attacking scientists, destroying machinery. Dr. Peters ran, but was caught by the hook of a large candy cane. A large group of Candy Creatures surrounded her with horrible gnashing teeth.


	13. Chapter 13

**Wow, has it been awhile. Either way, I plan to finish this up. Allons-y!**

The screen went black in an instant. There was nothing, that was how it ended; no thrilling battle between good and evil, no deep philosophical questions answered. Just the end. The Princess tried to clear her mind of all aggression or confusion, to find the word for what she felt. It was worse than disappointment, not quite unhappiness with what she know knew; it was something deeper, more mind-numbingly resentful; dissatisfaction.

She went on a mad hunt for more information, tearing open drawers to desks; eventually, when she came to a locked one, she took one of the archeologist's weapons and beat it open. Inside, she found a VHS tape, marked with masking tape and black ink, that read, "Princess".

The tape showed a close-up of Strauer in a hotel room, holding a radio. He turned it on, and tuned it into a station of a man talking with a slightly southern accent. "My fellow Americans, today we have made a shocking discovery, of a threat, not only to our country, but to our entire world." He changed the channel, this one having a man with an English accent. "And that is why it is my firmest belief, that we must defeat these monstrous invaders, before they have defeated us." He flipped through more channels, through men and women, speaking Japanese, French, Russian, German. He shut off the radio and smiled at the camera.

The next shot showed him in the same room, much later. "While the male was quick to leadership, the female is a much more tedious case. However, the female is slowly becoming more and more adept to the idea of being a ruler. I have found that the easiest way to teach her to do this is through Disney films." He then turned the camera to show her watching a film on the television (which appeared to show a blue, ghost like man) while she wearing only a blanket.

The next scene showed her delivering her child. The camera had to be mounted to his head, because moments after it started rolling, he began his work as she screamed in utter agony.

The next shot was of the television, displaying a mushroom cloud. "Today the first nuclear bombs were dropped across Europe. The human death toll is innumerable."

The next clip showed that he had clearly not shaved, showered, or slept in weeks. "The process of destruction is nearly over, and we may begin creation soon. All that is required is a touch of otherworldly power to make my plan unstoppable. And as you should know," He raised an old, thin book in his hand. It was marked in a combination of Arabic, Latin, and German, with a five branched tree on it, "Magic, so long as it is sufficiently analyzed, is simply another name for science."

The next clip showed him opening a strange portal. First she saw the Nightosphere, then she saw Hell, then Mars, and then endless worlds of endless descriptions, until it settled on one that wasn't. It was descriptionless; The creatures looked like nothing, but were still somethings; it was colorful, but not with any color she had ever seen; the same with the sounds, growing stranger by the second; and every part of it was absolutely petrifying.

The next clip showed dozens of candy people crawling over the mutilated corpses of hundreds of humans. One peppermint-man looked up from his meal, flesh still hanging from his mouth, and lunged at the person holding the camera.

The final shot was of Strauer, standing where they stood now, waving goodbye to the camera.

The Princess wouldn't leave the Royal Library for weeks; Peppermint Butler attempted to enter, but ended up leaving with a chip above his left eye. Eventually, her closest friends planned an intervention for her, when they heard her scream from the library. They ran to her, finding her sitting nude surrounded by things; an old broken radio; a book full of unspeakable horrors and spells to summon them; a beige trench coat covered in old red stains; and a tapestry displaying her family genealogy up until the great Prince Paul I and Princess Barbara I.

**Well, that's it. I may do a follow up n the future, though it's unlikely. **


End file.
